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Before #syadhilwedding Part IV : The Henna Night (Malam Berinai)

7/03/2014

The Henna Night is a Malay tradition, although some are usually bigger than others. They would wear full songket attire and sit on the pelamin and it's like a mini-wedding on its own. But I opted for the simple, ladies night/slumber-party kind of event.

Basically all my friends and my mum's friends were invited. My parents had ordered food from the caterers. The same one who was doing my wedding the next day. To be honest, we usually opt for that one caterer because the owners (a couple) are our family friends.

My friends were all on time, except Maisyarah. She was late but she stayed till the day after my reception. The others didn't stay. Unless you count my cousins. Some of my friends who came included Hannan, Batrisyia, Farah Najwa, Naz, Mus and Anis Amirah.

Here's the funny thing, there was no dress code but everyone was dressy! It was very nice to see but, henna can be messy. So here's a tip: Just wear something comfortable on your Henna Night. You have to be able to roll up your sleeves and if you're a shy shy cat, wear pants that are easily rolled up. I wore this modern kurung, so the long skirt could easily ruin the henna. I had to put my feet up on the couch in a lying down position to ensure the skirt wouldn't hit the wet henna. But mine was an all-girls party. So lying down on the couch was comfortable for me.

Here we are, choosing a design. There were so many! I opted for something rather floral.

My childhood friends. Aisyah Hannan and Batrisyia Aiman.

Here's another tip, do not go for a manicure BEFORE putting on henna. Your pretty buffed fingernails will not hold the henna. The henna won't stick so it would look blotchy and ugly. But buffing it AFTER putting on henna would make it look much more shiny and beautiful. So if you are really itching to go to the nail parlour, do it after.

This was also the last night before I became a wife. OH MY GOD. It's insane! I could barely sleep, I waited up for my sister to arrive from KL. She was in the middle of her finals, by the way. The things sisters do for each other.

I'll write a post on my thoughts of early marriage. But perhaps that would be after all the wedding posts. There's so much to write about!